1 [voice]

[anunluckypenny]

[Maybe the amplified ticking that only just stopped had gotten to her. Maybe the reality of her situation took five days to hit home. Whatever the reason, Penny doesn't sound particularly chipper. One might go so far as to say that she sounds outright shocked.]

Oh my god. This is all completely real, isn't it? Not just the City, but all of it. What Hammer said, the death ray, Billy, dying, coming here... all of that actually happened.

The City and the dying--that I can deal with. Death happens like everything else, right? But Billy's a supervillain... a real villain with a death ray and everything. And Hammer's supposed to be a hero and he actually told everyone that we slept--oh god. Laundromat-frozen yogurt-shy Billy has a death ray and Captain Hammer's a total... a total jerkface, and he never did care about the homeless, and why does that bother me more than Billy being Dr. Horrible? But Billy--Dr. Horrible--didn't actually shoot anyone, and Hammer made the death ray explode...

And then--

[There's a long pause, but the recording continues. Penny's quieter when she speaks again, as if she's not talking directly into her network device.]

That really happened. All of that happened.

Billy's sweet and a supervillain, Hammer's--and then what happened to the shelter when the death ray exploded? Who else...?

[Another pause. This time the pause stretches into silence until the device times out.]

Comments

[anunluckypenny]

Yeah. Company would be... but not if you're busy or anything.

[punchedhitler]

Where are you?

[anunluckypenny]

The welcome center? It's a nice place... thanks for bringing me here.

[punchedhitler]

[Steve shows up about twenty minutes later. He has a hot chocolate for her, too]

Hey, Penny?

[Peeking into the room the clerk said was hers]

[anunluckypenny]

Hey.

[She smiles and gestures to the other side of the bed, which is pretty much the only piece of furniture. The center's spartan, but functional.]

Thanks, Steve. For coming over. Sorry it's not cozier.

[punchedhitler]

It's okay. I would have invited you over but my apartment is kind of a mess.

[He sits on the bed, which protests a little, and hands her the hot chocolate]

Here, I brought this for you.

[anunluckypenny]

That's what apartments are for... messes. And living in, but mostly messes.

[She takes it gingerly. If Steve didn't look too young for her and she didn't think that her brain was a little out of whack, she'd consider asking him to marry her on the spot.]

Thank you. You really think of everything.

[punchedhitler]

You're welcome. I know what it's like to get here and remember things like that.

[anunluckypenny]

Really? ...Do you want to talk about anything?

[punchedhitler]

[He shakes his head]

No, I'm dealing with it.

[anunluckypenny]

That's cool. If you ever need an ear, though...

[Good hot chocolate, by the way.]

Can I ask you something really weird?

[punchedhitler]

[He looks over at her and nods]

[anunluckypenny]

Okay.

[She pauses as if working out how best to phrase this.]

Could I have a hug, maybe? Please?

[punchedhitler]

[He takes a moment to kind of - well, okay. A hug is innocent. He carefully takes her in his arms. It's a little awkward but Steve is warm and solid]

[anunluckypenny]

[Awkward doesn't matter; it's a good, solid, safe hug. That's what matters. And she kind of does feel better.]

Thanks, Steve. Sorry if that was asking for way too much.

[punchedhitler]

No, it's okay.

[He leans back]

Girls don't usually ask me to do that.

[anunluckypenny]

Oh. Well... I'd bet you don't visit a lot of girls who're crying about their jerk hero boyfriends and supervillain friends and exploding death rays, so I guess it's a pretty unique situation.

[punchedhitler]

I'm sorry.

[anunluckypenny]

No, hey... don't apologize. Hot drinks and hugs fix everything.

[punchedhitler]

I know it's not really much consolation, Penny.

[anunluckypenny]

It's plenty--more than I could ever, ever ask for. Don't sell yourself short, okay?

[punchedhitler]

Only if you promise the same thing.

[anunluckypenny]

You've got a deal.